A Nanakuli man has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the beating death of 18-year-old Alexander Baron Saballa of Wai'anae.

Kristopher K.K. Kalani, 19, who was charged late Saturday night, is being held in lieu of $75,000 bail.

Saballa, who attended Castle High School, was severely beaten July 22 in Nanakuli and never regained consciousness. He died Oct. 9 at The Queen's Medical Center of "multi-organ failure due to complications of blunt trauma injuries to the head due to assault," according to autopsy findings. The medical examiner classified his death as a homicide.

When homicide investigators received the case in September, Saballa was on life support and details of what occurred were sketchy.

Lt. Bill Kato, supervisor of homicide investigations, praised the work of detectives Randall Nakamura and Kenneth Higa for pulling together the case and identifying a suspect.

Police said that Saballa's beating stemmed from two confrontations July 22, the first of which started at BK Superette at 87-1680 Farrington Highway.

Three men from a party had gone to the store to buy beer, but were confronted by a group of men who outnumbered them, police said.

Two of the three men ran away and the third found refuge in the store, whose owner locked the door to keep out the group.

Before eventually leaving, the group turned over the pickup truck that the three men had driven to the store, police said.

Word of the confrontation got back to the party and two carloads of men, including Saballa, went to BK Superette looking for the men who confronted the trio. Police by then were at the superette and the two cars left. The men in the cars later confronted a group at a nearby housing area off Farrington Highway.

During an ensuing fracas, the men in the cars scattered when they found themselves outnumbered, police said. Saballa did not make it out.

Kato said Saballa was badly beaten and then he was dumped in the bed of a pickup truck parked on Farrington Highway.

The truck's owner, who was fishing nearby, discovered the injured Saballa in his truck more than an hour later, police said.

"It was very much like investigating a cold case," Kato said. "The detectives went back and recreated everything and tracked down witnesses. It was difficult because of the time frame between when the beating occurred and when we got the case."

Special Services Division officers arrested Kalani at 7 a.m. Friday at his residence on an outstanding $12,000 grand jury warrant for assault on a police officer, a charge unrelated to the Saballa case.

Homicide investigators later questioned Kalani about the July 22 incident and police said he admitted beating Saballa.

Attempts yesterday to reach Alexander Saballa's parents, Andrew Sr. and Veronica Saballa, for comment were unsuccessful but Kato said the family was very cooperative in the investigation.

Kalani is scheduled for an initial appearance on the manslaughter charge tomorrow at District Court.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.